It was always you
by imasmartcookie
Summary: Marley is dating Ryder, but she's realized her feelings don't go beyond friendship. Jake missed his shot with Marley and now has settled with being her friend. Marley breaks up with Ryder at a bonfire party and when Jake gets drunk, he unknowingly hints that he cares for Marley as more than just a friend. Rated T for mild language


_**I'm so sorry that I haven't posted for Escaping or Be Mine Forever in a while but there has been a lot of my family going in and out of the hospital this month and I've been really busy. So here is a one shot I wrote a few weeks ago to hold you over for a little bit longer. I am in the process of writing a chapter for Escaping, Be Mine Forever, and Pulling Apart and Coming Together. I'm also finishing Vodka and Stars. So please don't hate me :) This is the longest one shot I've ever written. Enjoy and stay tuned for my new chapters (for the stories written above) which (if nothing else comes up) should be done by Wednesday. Plus, after that there should be more one shots coming. For some reason I keep getting ideas for new ones. **_

* * *

Jake threw a waded up piece of paper at Marley. She was sitting at his desk with her history textbook on top it.

"What was that for?" Marley asked as she gave Jake a fake shocked look.

"I've been asking you the same question for like fifteen minutes." Jake shut his textbook and pushed it to the other side of his bed.

"Sorry, what was your question?"

"What you thought the answer to number nine was, but nevermind that. What are you thinking about?"

"Your my best friend, so I can tell you anything right?" Marley got up from the desk chair and sat on the bed across from Jake. "I mean, you're not going to judge me or anything."

Jake got serious. "You can tell me anything you want, I promise I won't judge you." Jake held out his pinky finger in front of Marley for her to link hers with. "Pinky promise."

Marley smiled and wrapped her pinky finger on Jake's. "Okay, so you know how I've been going out with Ryder."

Jake suddenly felt like throwing something at the mention of his name. He couldn't stand the fact that Marley and Ryder were... dating. Those words left a sour taste in his mouth, but he couldn't complain. He'd missed his shot with Marley and now she was with Ryder, he'd just have to suck it up. "Yeah, what about it?"

"I like him, I do it's just..." Marley paused and looked down at her hands.

"What's the problem Marls?"

"Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy, but I feel weird. I think that maybe he and I should just be friends. I feel like I've been leading him on, I just don't want to hurt him."

Jake wanted to jump up and down with joy, he remained calm on the outside but on the inside he was going crazy. "Marley, if you're not happy then you shouldn't be going out with him."

"Am I a bad person for feeling like this?"

"You can feel any way that you want to, but I think you should be telling this to him."

"When? I talked to him earlier and he said he's busy all week with appointments and studying and football practice. The only time I see him is at school and even then it's only the short time between classes."

"Is he going to the bonfire party Friday?"

"I think so, but is that really the best place to tell him?"

"Seems like the only option right now."

"I guess. So I have two days to prepare my breakup speech." Marley stood up and started pacing the room. "What if I can't go through with it? What if he hates me and never wants to talk to me again? What if-"

Jake stood up when Marley started rambling, he grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes to calm her down. "Marley, you can do it, I'll go with you and when you go to talk to him just look over at me to calm yourself down. And stop with the what if's, nothing has happened yet so don't know how he'll react."

"You'd really go to the high school bonfire party? For me? You hate those things."

"I know, but you're my friend and you need my help."

Marley hugged Jake. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now can we finish our homework?"

Marley chuckled. "Okay."

* * *

Marley spent the rest of her week avoiding Ryder. She knew the next time she would talk to him for more than five minutes in person would be at the bonfire, and she didn't want to lie through her teeth to him, so she waited. When Friday approached, she became even more nervous. She was headed over to Jake's house because they were going to the party together. Ryder said that he and his friends were going together and that he would meet her there. Marley walked down the street to Jake's home, they didn't live far from each other. She took out her phone to text Jake.

"_Change of plans. I'm going to go home first and change, then I'll come over."_

_"Okay, you have about five hours to get ready and come over so take your time."_

_"I'll be done in two hours tops."_

_"What do you want to do before we go?"_

_"There's no homework, so I don't know. We'll figure it out when I come over."_

_"Don't take too long. Mom won't be home from work 'til late and I'm super fucking bored."_

_"Jake!"_

_"Sorry, just super bored. So hurry up, Marley Rose!"_

_"See you soon."_

Marley chuckled at Jake's text as she walked into her house and took off her jacket. "Mom, I'm home!"

"In the kitchen!"

Marley walked into the kitchen and found her mom making something. "What are you making?"

"Some cookies. I thought you and Jake would want a snack. Is Jake still coming over?"

"Actually, I'm going over to his house in a bit."

"Well then you can take them over there. I'm going to leave to go to your grandma's house in a few hours. I should be there all weekend. Are you going to be okay here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine, can Jake come over tomorrow?"

"That will be fine."

"Great! I'm going to get a shower and get dressed so an hour or so."

"'ll just pack these cookies up for you."

Marley turned and left the kitchen. "Thanks, mom."

She went upstairs and got into the shower. When she finished, she went through her closet in search of something to wear. It was breezy tonight and a little chilly so she wanted something that would keep her warm. She grabbed a pair of jeans and paired it with a tank top before she put on a sweater with the words 'New York' written across it. She grabbed a pair of boots and curled her hair, then she went downstairs in search of her mom to tell her that she was ready to go to Jake's house.

Marly found her mom in the kitchen wrapping something up and putting it in the fridge. "When are you leaving? It's about an hour drive and it's getting late."

"I am leaving when you leave. I wanted to wait for you. I just wrapped up dinner for you, I figured you'd eat after you came back from Jake's house."

"Okay, thank you. You didn't have to wait for me."

"I wanted to. Here." Millie handed over a small box, which Marley assumed held the cookies. "There's some more cookies left when you get home."

"He loves these." Marley laughed.

"I know, that's why I made them. I should get going, do you want a ride to Jake's?"

"He lives down the street, I think I can walk."

"Okay, come here." Millie gave her daughter a hug before she pulled back and walked into the livingroom to put on her coat. "Don't come home too late."

"I won't, don't worry. Call me when you get there."

"I will. I love you, Marls."

"Love you too mom."

Marley waved to her mom as she pulled out of the driveway. She grabbed her house key and put it in her pocket and grabbed her phone to text Jake.

_"I'm on my way, be there in five minutes."_

_"See you soon, gorgeous."_

Marley smiled. _"Really, Jake?"_

_"I'm a Puckerman, what do you expect?"_

Marley laughed and decided to text Ryder as she closed the door behind her and made her way to Jake's with the box of cookies in hand.

_"Hey, Ryder. Are you still coming to the bonfire?"_

_"Yeah, of course babe. Why?"_

_"There's something I want to talk to you about."_

_"Uh, okay. See you there."_

Marley put her phone in her pocket as she walked up to Jake's door. Jake came to the door less than two minutes after she had knocked. If she had to say, he looked pretty hot in his button down shirt and jeans. Casual, yet sexy. As soon as these thoughts came to mind, they disappeared. Jake didn't like her like that and she hadn't even broken up with Ryder yet. She walked in and Jake gave her a hug.

"What's this? Are these cookies?"

"Not just any cookies, they're your favorite."

"Classic chocolate chip?"

"Yes."

"Send my gratitude to your mom."

Marley laughed softly. "Sorry I took so long."

"You only took an hour and a half."

"Still, that's a long time. So we still have about three hours to the bonfire right?"

"Yeah, so what do you want to do?"

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"You can tell me if what I'm going to say to Ryder is good or if I sound like a bitch."

"Fair enough. I doubt that'll take three hours, though."

"I'm just going to give you the base of what I'm saying." Marley sat down on the couch and Jake followed her. "I want to tell him that I like him, but just as a friend."

"That's it?"

"No it's going to be longer and I'm going to be as nice as possible but I know that I'm going to feel terrible no matter what I say."

"You might feel bad for a bit, but you'll get over it and be glad that you did the right thing."

"How is the right thing to break someone's heart?"

"You're not happy or comfortable with this relationship. Ryder is a big boy, he'll get over it."

"If you say so. Can we do anything besides think about tonight?"

"We could watch a movie. That would take up some time."

"Pick a movie then." Marley smiled as she watched Jake get up to go get a movie. Jake would help her take her mind off of Ryder, just for a little bit.

* * *

After the movie Jake and Marley spent the remainder of their time talking about little things. They told stories of when they were kids and talked about all kinds of things, Marley had never been abl to do that with Ryder. Everything was different with Jake. Marley was sitting in the passenger's seat of Jake's car patiently waited for when the arrived to the bonfire. Marley could see all the cars and heard laughter and smelled strong alcohol. She never understood why Ryder liked these and why he insisted that she always come to them. To be honest, she couldn't think of a worse way to spend her Friday night,, but she needed to talk to Ryder.

When the found a parking spot, Jake saw how nervous Marley was so he grabbed her hand causing her to look at him. "Everything will be okay. You just need to tell him."

Marley took a deep breath as Jake spoke, she smiled then unbuckled her seat belt. "Thank you, Jake. I may have to calm myself down and remind myself of why I'm doing this a couple of times so I'll look at you, It'll help me."

"I'll be watching, you can look at me as many times as you need and when you're done you can come sit with me."

Marley nodded her head before she got out of the car. She spotted Ryder talking with a few Cheerios and football players, she slowly walked up to him and gave a small smile as she gestured for him to follow her. "I'll be back in a little bit guys." Ryder said as he walked away from his friends and over to Marley.

"Hey, Ryder."

"Hi, Marls. Is everything okay? What did you want to talk about?"

Marley looked down as she spoke. "I want to talk about us."

"Us? What about us?"

"Ryder, I really like you. You're a sweetheart and I really care about you. You have been an amazing boyfriend to me these past few weeks. But, I just feel as if we aren't supposed to be more than friends. I'm sorry, but I can't make myself feel something I don't." Marley had glanced at Jake at least five times, and she hoped Ryder didn't notice.

Ryder stared blankly at Marley as she talked, feeling his heart shatter into a million pieces. He gave her a sad smile. "I-I understand, Marley."

"Ryder, I'm sorry."

Ryder noticed that as Marley talked she looked behind him. While Marley was looking at the ground he looked back to where she had been looking and saw Jake sitting there. He knew that Jake was interested in Marley, and if he couldn't have Marley he would at least mess with Jake's head. Ryder put on his saddest face and looked at Marley. "Can I at least have one last kiss?"

Marley felt terrible when she looked up and saw Ryder, he looked sad and heartbroken. When he asked for one last kiss, she thought that she would let him have it if it made him feel better. "Sure."

Ryder leaned in and kissed Marley for a few moments longer than he should have, but if it pushed Jake's buttons he would. He felt horrible, this was the first girl that Ryder had ever really seriously liked and his first heartbreak. When he pulled away he gave Marley a hug. "See you around, Marley."

"Okay, Ryder." Marley watched as Ryder walked away. He walked over to his friends and whispered something to them. She thought he would stay with his friends, but instead he went towards his car.

The second Jake saw Ryder and Marley kiss he felt sick. He stood up and went to get something to drink. After eleven or twelve he was drunk, he saw Marley sitting in the spot that he had sat in prior to getting drunk. He walked over to her and plopped down next to her. "Where's pretty boy?"

Marley could smell Jake when he sat next to her. "Jake, are you drunk?"

Jake laughed and took the last sip of his drink. "Hell yeah I am. So, answer the question, where's Ryder? Is he off with the football team or are you waiting for him to come over to you."

"Jake please st-"

Jake cut her off. "Shh, don't worry about it." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

Marley let Jake do what he wanted. She knew it was no use fighting him when he was drunk, he didn't listen to a thing she said. After he put his arm around her, Marley saw a football player coming towards them. "What's this? Marley dumped Ryder for a Puckerman? She must have been cheating on him the whole time, what a slut."

Marley stood up as soon as Jake did. "What the hell did you just call her?!"

"A slut!"

Jake threw a punch at the guy, knocking him right in the jaw. Marley was standing a couple feet away from Jake and she gasped, she didn't want him to get hurt. For being drunk, he was sure quick with his reflexes. After the guy was knocked to the ground Marley grabbed Jake's arm and drug him towards the car, his lip and nose were bleeding. "Jake, are you okay?"

"Yeah, can we go now, Marls?"

Marley held Jake's arm as she brought him to his car. "Jake you didn't have to do that."

Jake got in the passengers seat. "Yeah, I did. You're not a slut, Marls. You're beautiful and you don't deserve that."

Marley could tell it was probably the beer talking but she still appreciated it. She got into the driver's seat and turned to Jake. "Give me your keys."

Jake handed over his keys and leaned his head against the window as he started murmuring things about Marley. "I like your smile and the way you laugh. I like your hair, you're awesome and really, _really_ sexy. I wish you would've chosen me instead of Ryder."

Marley couldn't help the grin that came over her face as she listened to Jake. But it vanished when he said he wished she would've chosen him over Ryder. Did he like her, like _that_? She tried to forget it and focus her eyes on the road. She didn't want to take him to his house because she knew that his mom would be disappointed if she saw him drunk, so she drove to her house. After she pulled up and shut the car off she went to Jake's side of the car and opened the door, quickly pushing him up so he didn't fall on the ground. "Jake, come on."

Jake got out of the car and stumbled a bit. Marley grabbed his arm and put it over her shoulder, she walked up to the door and pulled out her keys. Quickly, she opened the door and walked Jake over to the couch. "I'll be right back, don't fall asleep." Marley walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and some pain medicine just in case he was in any pain, then she grabbed some things to clean the blood off Jake's face. She went upstairs to change, she wore a tank top and a pair of shorts. After fifteen minutes she came downstairs and walked into the livingroom Jake looked tired, but she could tell he was still awake. "Jake, does anything hurt?"

"My nose does. My lip is okay, but it still stings." Marley handed him the water and two pills before she took a seat next to him.

"I see that you've sobered up a bit while I changed. Did the alcohol wear off a bit?"

"A bit, I wasn't totally drunk." Jake chuckled after he swallowed the pills.

Marley took Jake's face in her hands and turned him to look at her so she could get a better look at his face. "At least it has stopped bleeding." Marley started gently wiping the blood off of him. "You didn't need to fight him, we could have just left."

Jake loved feeling Marley's touch. She was so careful when she started wiping the blood off. "Yes I did. He had no right to talk to you like that. You know that what he said isn't true, right?"

"He didn't, but that doesn't mean that you had to defend me."

"Yes, I did you're my friend. But you didn't answer me. Please tell me that you don't believe what that douche said about you."

"I don't, I promise." Marley finished wiping the blood around his nose and moved to clean his lip.

"Good. So are you and Ryder staying together?"

Marley moved her gaze from Jake's bloody lip to his eyes, giving him a confused look. He sounded... _jealous_. Maybe he did like her as more than a friend. But he obviously didn't remember saying what he did in the car, so she'd bring it up later. "What are you talking about?

"I saw you two kiss."

Marley looked back to Jake's lip and sighed. "No, Jake we aren't staying together. I broke up with him and he wanted one last kiss. Did you not hear that idiot say that I dumped him?"

"No, I didn't really hear anything other than slut and it being directed towards you. So how did he take it?"

"He was upset, but he didn't show it. I feel bad about it."

"You shouldn't, you did the best thing."

"I suppose so." Marley wiped the last bit of blood from Jake's face. "All done." Marley placed her hand on Jake's cheek. "Is that medicine starting to kick in yet?"

"A little, thank you Marley."

"You should stay here tonight. I don't think that your mom would be happy if you woke her up and she smelled the alcohol. I'll go get you some pillows and blankets." Marley stood up, but before she could walk away Jake grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Marls."

Marley hugged him back just as tightly as he held her. "You don't have to be." Marley released herself from his grasp and went to get some clean blankets and pillows for him.

Jake sat on the couch and waited for Marley to come back, after a few minutes she walked into the room and handed him the items. "I should probably go to bed, make sure you drink all that water." Marley smiled as she walked upstairs to her bedroom and tried to go to sleep, but all she could think about what Jake.

_"What would happen if he liked me? I know I still have feelings for him, but I don't want to get my heart broken. He's not exactly a one woman type of guy, but maybe he could be. I am going to talk to him tomorrow morning. I need to know if we have a chance, I need him."_

* * *

When Marley woke up she got a shower and put on a tee shirt and a pair of yoga pants. She thought that by the time she got dressed Jake would be up and she was right. When she went downstairs he was watching tv, she went and grabbed a book off of the bookshelf beside the tv. She had to stretch up to reach it and doing so revealed part of her stomach. After grabbing her book she went and sat beside Jake. "When did you wake up?" She asked as she flipped the book open to the page she left off on.

Jake watched as Marley came down the stairs. Her outfit hugged her body in all the right places, it showed off her ass and her legs. Not to mention the top which perfectly showcased her boobs. When she reached up to grab her book, her back was facing him and he licked his lips. 'Damn, she's hot.' He thought as she sat down. "A few hours ago. Do you always have your head in a book?"

Marley laughed as Jake asked about her books. "I told you before and I'll tell you again; I'm reading every book on that shelf and I always read on the weekends."

"And another thing, what are you wearing?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You look _really_ hot right now."

"Jake!" Marley laughed but her face turned as red as a tomato.

"What? I told you once and I'll tell you again; I'm a Puckerman, what do you expect?"

"You can _not_ say things like that." Marley kept laughing as the red faded.

"You come down here with your body in the tightest clothes I have ever seen and you want me to keep my opinion to myself. That's not happening."

Marley hit Jake lightly with her book. "Whatever. Come on, I'm starving let's go make some breakfast." Marley put her book down and went into the kitchen with Jake following.

"So what exactly are we making for breakfast?"

"I don't know. Do pancakes, eggs and bacon sound okay?"

"It sounds great."

After Marley and Jake made breakfast they sat at the table together. Marley though she should bring up what he said last night. "So, do you remember what you said to me last night when we were driving home?"

"No, I'm assuming it wasn't anything rude because you would be pissed if it was."

"It wasn't anything like that."

"Then what did I say?"

"You were saying things that you liked about me, then you said something else."

Jake gave Marley a questioning look. "Well, spit it out I can't read your mind, Rose." Jake chuckled as he stood up with his empty plate and started walking towards the sink.

"You said that you wished I would've chosen you instead of Ryder."Marley stood up but left her plate on the table, she stayed next to the table to see what Jake would say.

Jake froze in place as he heard what Marley said. Was he drunk enough to spill _that_? "Marley i-it was probably nothing. Don't worry about it." He placed his plate in the sink and kept his back to her.

Marley grabbed her plate and took it to the sink, then she walked to where Jake was. "Jake, it wasn't nothing. Please turn around."

Jake turned around and looked at her. "Seriously, Marley I was drunk, and wasn't thinking." He walked away from her and into the livingroom

Marley followed him. "Jake, do you have feelings for me?"

Jake looked at Marley and saw that her eyes were pleading him for an answer. He took a deep breath and let it out before he answered. "Yes. I do, I have had them since before you started dating Ryder."

Marley didn't say anything, she thought for a minute. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you liked Ryder more and obviously I was right because you picked him."

"It was always you, Jake._ Always_."

"What?"

"I wanted you, but since you didn't really show me how you felt I chose Ryder."

Jake didn't waste any time walking over to her and kissing her passionately on the lips. She wanted him, she needed him. When they finally pulled apart Marley looked him in the eyes. "Can you be with me and just me? No more Cheerios or random girls anymore?"

"Marley I haven't been with anyone since I started having feelings for you, except for my popularity boost with Kitty."

Jake put his forehead against hers, letting the feeling of her surround him. Her touch, her taste, her scent, he was memorizing all of it and loving the feeling. "I should get home, Marls. My mom was probably pissed when she woke up and I wasn't there." He placed his hand on her cheek

"Your mom can wait for a little bit." Marley kissed him again.


End file.
